Heartwarming Video Shows Lonely Elephant Finally Meeting Another Of Her Kind After 30 Years

The San Diego Zoo posted this heartwarming video of its
newest elephant, Mila, meeting another elephant, Mary. The moment
is particularly special since prior to this encounter, Mila had
spent more than 30 years without coming into contact with another
elephant, according to the zoo.

Mila arrived at the San Diego Zoo last November after being
transferred from a New Zealand zoo, where the 8,000-pound African
elephant accidentally killed one of the zoo's
veterinarians. Before that, Mila had spent more than three
decades in a traveling circus in New Zealand. She is now 41 years
old.

In late January, we gave Mila the first opportunity to meet
another elephant with limited interaction. We decided that Mary
was the best option, given she is a dominant elephant in the
herd, is relatively calm, and has a good track record with
meeting newcomers. The first interaction was done with each
elephant in separate adjoining yards, using a mesh wall as the
barrier between the two elephants. We were uncertain how Mila
would react; being excited, nervous, scared, aggressive, or
submissive were all possibilities we could have expected to
observe. Mary was curious of the newbie, while Mila was surprised
to find something as big as her on the other side of the wall!
These initial meet-and-greets have the potential to go in many
different directions; there is no textbook answer to say how new
elephants will react to one another. We use observation and our
knowledge of elephant behavior to gauge the success of the
introductions.